Lando Norris gifted Oscar Piastri victory in the Sprint race at the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix which the Australian said showed there is a “lack of egos” at McLaren.
]Norris was comfortably leading the 19-lap Sprint at the Lusail International Circuit but slowed as he came out of the final corner towards the chequered flag.
The move allowed Piastri to claim victory and Norris cooly slotted his McLaren into second place.
Norris said he “made up his mind” to gift Piastri the win after the Australian handed him top billing in the Sao Paulo Sprint.
“I was aware it could happen,” Piastri said post-Sprint.
“I was a bit surprised that with George [Russell] half a second [back] it did but I was aware it was a possibility so it wasn’t completely unexpected.
“Maybe a little bit in the circumstances of the race but yeah, think it just speaks of our teamwork and fairness for the team and obviously doesn’t change the points and yeah, I think it just shows off our teamwork and lack of egos within the team.”
Teamwork ‘incredibly important’ for McLaren ‘culture,’ says Oscar Piastri
Throughout 2024, Norris and Piastri have played the team game.
Amid Piastri’s maiden GP win in Hungary, Norris abided by team orders to relinquish the lead after a deliberate pit-stop sequence had demoted the Australian to second place.
In Baku, Norris held up Sergio Perez to help prevent an undercut on Piastri, who went on to claim his second GP win at the Azerbaijan GP.
Moreover, Piastri conceding the Sprint victory in Sao Paulo was vital to keep Norris in contention amid his now failed Drivers’ title bid.
“This year there’s been a lot of noise about how we go racing as a team and whether it’s right, mostly whether it’s wrong but I think we’ve always been very comfortable with how we’ve done things,” Piastri said.
“It’s always been very clear that the team comes first and in some scenarios that means myself helping Lando and in some scenarios that means Lando helping me.
“I think it’s a big strength that we have, that we’re willing and so cooperative with each other and I think whilst that it maybe doesn’t mean the world to us sometimes, I think for the whole culture and what it displays for the rest of the team is incredibly important.
“If you’ve got both drivers so willing to work together and help each other out then it’s the best example for the rest of the team because it’s not just about us two, it’s about the hundreds and thousands of people trying to help us win.
“We’re trying to make it so that we can just fight for first and second and not have to worry about everyone else, of course everybody is, but I think it just speaks a lot of the teamwork culture.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris relinquishes Qatar F1 Sprint win to Oscar Piastri as McLaren take 1-2
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